In Pictures: 10 Remarkable, Recession-Proof Entrepreneurs

Sam Zygmuntowicz, 52

Luthier, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Zygmuntowicz is an artist’s artist. He hews exquisite string instruments out of spruce, ebony and maple. “There are no more than six people who are at his level,” says Tim Q. Ingles, director of musical instruments for Sotheby’s. In 2003, a violin built by Samuel Zygmuntowicz for Isaac Stern sold for $130,000 at auction, the highest price for one by a living luthier. Last year Yo-Yo Ma played a $90,000 Zygmuntowicz cello on a two-month tour. While routinely putting in 15-hour days, Zygmuntowicz makes only half a dozen instruments a year. His waiting list stands at 30, a comforting five-year backlog. He charges roughly $53,000 for a new violin and $90,000 for a cello–low enough to keep the order book filled with musicians (as opposed to collectors) but rich enough to let him spend a lot of time on a single job. (For Zygmuntowicz’s full profile, click here.) –Maureen Farrell